"Furthermore, physical activity reduces inflammation, which is higher in those with vascular disease and impairs systemic and brain-specific growth factor signaling. Physical activity may also improve psychological well-being, which in turn may protect against decline in cognitive functioning," they wrote.
"I believe that these findings can inform practice and the advice that we give our aging patients," Dr. Eric B. Larson of Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, wrote in an invited commentary accompanying the reports (Arch. Intern. Med. 2011 July 19 [doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.273]).
"We can tell them that ongoing maintenance of physical activity is definitely worthwhile and likely of increasing benefit as they advance into old age."
Meanwhile, researchers should now turn toward developing ways to change behavior and promote habitual physical activity, especially in middle and late life, he added.
Dr. Middleton’s study was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Canadian Institute of Health Research, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the American Federation of Aging Research. Dr. Vercambre’s study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Fondation Bettencourt-Schueller, and the American Heart Association. Dr. Larson is supported by the National Institute on Aging and reported no financial conflicts of interest. No authors in either study reported having any financial conflicts of interest.